


Birds of a Feather

by Liquid_Lyrium



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Chocobo Races, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gold Saucer, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-25 10:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17723114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liquid_Lyrium/pseuds/Liquid_Lyrium
Summary: Far from home, Hanzo has become tethered to the world of chocobo racing as a means to sustain himself and his quest. Once again empty-handed and empty-walleted, he returns to Gold Saucer where he meets the least likely jockey he's ever seen. A man who somehow charms his way into Hanzo's lonely heart, but the longer he knows Jesse, the more mysterious he becomes. Will helping Jesse turn out to be more than either of them bargained for?





	Birds of a Feather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter full of fate and feathers.

"Welcome back Hanzo!" Hanzo grunted and shouldered his way past the ridiculously pastel woman. Estelle? He'd been here enough, he should remember her name. He was exhausted, and he tuned out whatever inconsequential, trivialities she was attempting to initiate in the name of manners.

He would have time for manners after a night's sleep.

Hanzo wrinkled his nose as he entered the paddock. The overpowering, powdery scent of chocobo and the much more pungent aroma of chocobo droppings cut through the air. The stables were, at least, a welcome respite from the over saturated neon lights of Gold Saucer.

As he took in the scene before him, Hanzo wondered if he should have listened to Estelle.

Standing with his back to Hanzo, was a tall man in a broad-brimmed hat with some kind of reddish cape wrapped around his shoulders that was draped just the right way to show off his trim waist. He had his arms raised, cradling the head of an absolutely enormous red chocobo in his hands. Hanzo could just see the glint of a gauntlet beneath red feathers. Only on the left hand.

The only thing more surprising than finding someone else occupying his favorite paddock was the deep, rumbling _waaaaark_ that the chocobo issued forth. It almost sounded like the bird had something caught in its throat. Nothing at all like the beautiful and piercing _kweh_ he was used to.

The stranger shifted on one leg, murmuring quietly to the chocobo, and Hanzo's eyes were drawn to his feet by the jingle of metal. Spurs. _Barbaric._ Hanzo curled his nose in distaste. He looked over the man again and shook his head. Clearly the spurs were for aesthetic purposes. This man was too large to be a chocobo jockey, easily half a head taller than Hanzo and probably several stone heavier. It simply wasn’t possible.

A moment later, the boots rotated, and Hanzo was suddenly staring at the face of the stranger who was, in a word, rugged. He found himself trying to picture the man's facial hair tidied up. His eyes caught the light from the halo-shaped light overhead regulating the chocobo’s sleep cycle and the ambient temperature. The way they reflected back the light made them look gold.

The man tipped his hand back, and Hanzo realized that he wasn't wearing a gauntlet at all. His left hand was made of metal, and articulated to a degree he had never seen before. "Well, howdy pardner. Can I help you?"

Hanzo blinked. "I... this is paddock number six, yes?"

"Sure is."

Hanzo looked around, as though his surroundings might change. “Where are my chocobos?”

The stranger shrugged, “Dunno! Only me’n Fio in here right now. My understanding is they don’t take too kindly to chocobos from different jockeys mixing before races.”

Hanzo frowned, glaring at the red, towering monstrosity who seemed to take it as a challenge from the way Fio’s feathers fluffed out and she started flapping her wings. Hanzo quickly averted his gaze. No sense in angering the dangerous, unfamiliar predatory bird.

“Hey, hey, hey! Calm down girl, shh!” Hanzo couldn’t help but be impressed at how quickly the man calmed the beast. He wondered if the metal hand gave him extra strength against the pure wall of muscle hidden beneath the feathers. The massive bird settled with one final shiver before the scarlet plumage smoothed back.

“I apologize,” Hanzo started to bow before he remembered that he wasn’t home anymore. _I must be more exhausted than I thought_ _if I’m mixing up my manners like this_. “I have always been assigned to this paddock. I was taken by surprise. I should not have issued a challenge. Intentional or otherwise.”

“No worries, it’s all good. No harm done here, besides—” the chocobo hand flashed him a lopsided smile, “I bet folks get flustered all the time when you look at ‘em.”

Hanzo blinked, completely nonplussed. The other man winked, still grinning, like he was letting Hanzo in on some sort of secret.

Hanzo crossed his arms, leveling his scrutiny at the other man which did—if only for a moment—cause the man to falter in his expression. “I have often been told my gaze is unnerving. You are not the first to tell me it makes you uncomfortable.”

The other man widened his eyes in surprise, then he buckled over and started laughing. His hat slipped off his head onto the floor below. “Oh man, yer a real hoot.”

 _Chocobos do not hoot_. Hanzo was thankful he kept the exhaustion-fueled non-sequitur to himself. “You _are_ the first person to tell me that.”

The chocobo hand flashed him a much too pleased with himself smile as he gathered his hat from the floor. “Well, I’ll take that. Name’s Jesse.” He tipped his hat as soon as it was righted on his head.

“Hanzo.” He couldn’t believe the man would be willing to put his hat back on his head after it touched the filthy floor.

“Nice to meetcha Hanzo!” His spurs jangled as he crossed the distance between them, his non-metallic hand extended. As Hanzo reached forward to return the gesture, he saw the edges of a scar under the edge of Jesse’s glove. _A burn?_ Hanzo realized a moment too late that he had held onto Jesse’s hand a moment too long. He tore his eyes away from the man’s wrist back to his face—where he had that too pleased smile on his lips once again.

Hanzo drew his hand back to his sides.

“So, you a jockey? You mentioned you have chocobos.” Jesse’s hands disappeared into the red plumage at the base of the chocobo’s neck as he walked back to Fio.

“You must be new. This will be my sixth visit.”

Jesse chuckled, “My apologies! Didn’t realize I was talking to someone so important!”

Hanzo felt his cheeks flush hot. “That wasn’t what I-”

Jesse waved his metal hand lazily with a chuckle, “Nah, it’s alright, Mr. Big Deal. I _am_ new around here. I was just wondering if I was gonna see you again. I’m stuck here for awhile and it’d be nice to know someone. Besides Fio.” The smile Jesse leveled at Hanzo wasn’t so self-satisfied this time. It was… almost tentative. Sweet. _Vulnerable_ , his brain helpfully supplied.

Hanzo couldn’t seem to answer that, so he nodded. After a moment, he tugged at the strap across over his shoulder and tugged his satchel so that it was sitting at his hip. He slipped his hand beneath the leather strap and withdrew a single regan green. Had he not been operating on such a lack of sleep he might have thought better of merely throwing it in Jesse’s direction, but the man caught it easily enough as it was lobbed at his head. Jesse tossed it up in the air and caught it in his palm once more.

“Woah! What’s this for?”

“That chocobo is ill. I have found this type of green to be very fortifying when it comes to chocobo health-” Hanzo wasn’t expecting Jesse to double over laughing again.

“Ain’t you the sweetest thing? Fio here ain’t sick though!” Jesse’s eyes twinkled brightly at him, as gold as any (usual) chocobo feathers.

“Did you not hear the sound she was making?” Hanzo furrowed his brows at Jesse.

“Heh, Fio here is a wild chocobo. She don’t sound as pretty as her cousins, I get it, but she’s hale and hearty as any of them.” Jesse patted the side of her neck fondly.

 _That might explain the size as well_. Most chocobos were a little shy of two meters tall, but Fio looked to be nearing two and a half meters in height. Hanzo was impressed. “Her rider must be extraordinarily talented to handle a beast that did not come from domesticated stock.”

Jesse chuckled and tipped his hat, “Why thank you, darling. I appreciate the compliment.”

Hanzo blinked. When Jesse didn’t break into a grin and tell him it was a joke, he looked the hulking man up and down once again. Jesse was easily as tall as most chocobos, and probably quite a bit heavier than Hanzo. Even with Fio being so large, it was difficult to fathom such a possibility. “You are… a jockey?”

Jesse chuckled. “That’s the politest bit o’ skepticism I’ve received yet.”

 _You are too large to be a successful racer. Who put you up to this?_ “I certainly wish you well. I will be in several races tomorrow, perhaps we shall meet again.”

“Here, you can have your green back. You didn’t know it was going to your rival-” Hanzo couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him. He hastily tried to turn it into a cough. “-And Fio is fit as a fiddle.”

Hanzo held up a hand to refuse the green. “You may keep it, if you trust me. Consider it an apology for upsetting your trusty companion.”

Jesse lifted the green up to his nose, humming thoughtfully. “Smells alright. Let’s see if she’ll go for it.” He held it up to Fio. There was a low whistle as the chocobo inhaled the scent of the green. Fio turned her beak up, and dramatically turned around to fan her tail at the both of them. Hanzo couldn’t help joining in with Jesse’s chuckles. “She’s real bad about eating her greens. Maybe I’ll find some sausage to mash this up in and she’ll take it that way.”

“I find eel to be a particularly good method of smuggling greens into their digestive systems,” Hanzo offered the tip with a small smile.

“I’ll have to try that sometime,” Jesse smiled and stashed the green in a nearby basket. “Say, Hanzo, how do you feel about a friendly wager?”

Hanzo narrowed his eyes at Jesse. There were rules about jockeys betting on the outcome of their own races, but informal challenges like this were commonplace enough. “It depends on the wager.”

“No money on the line, I promise. I wouldn’t do that to ya. How ‘bout this, though. If we end up in a race together, how about the loser treats the winner to dinner?”

Hanzo felt a bit of tension leave his shoulders when he realized that the terms weren’t even close to breaking the rules. “Is that all? Fine, but what if we end up in more than one race together?”

“We’ll go by the results of the first race, in that case. Sound good?” Jesse’s bright eyes and bright grin were strangely… disarming. _Endearing_ , his brain helpfully supplied again. Then Jesse’s words fell into place.

“Are you asking for a date?” Hanzo couldn’t believe he’d been so dense. The only way his cheeks could have been hotter would be if he pressed his face against the heating lamp above.

“I mean, kinda?” Jesse dragged a metal finger along his cheek absently. “I, uh, it can just be dinner, though. If you want.”

Hanzo opened his mouth, but then flicked his eyes over the vicious-looking spurs at Jesse’s heels once more. He bit the edge of his tongue, seething once more. How could a man so gentle and caring with his chocobo possibly stand to use such a crutch with such capacity for cruelty? _Maybe he can not handle the wild chocobo as well as he claims._

“Actually, I have some engagements tomorrow evening. I will not be able to take you up on your wager. Have a good night.” Hanzo gave a curt bow, slightly irritated that Jesse was entirely ignorant of his customs and would be unable to appreciate how rude the gesture was. Hanzo ignored the man’s protests and stormed out of the paddock, chastising himself for letting himself get distracted by a sweet smile and a pretty chocobo.

He had to brave the neon assault of Chocobo Square all the way back back to the betting tables to find Esther (he finally remembered her name). She managed to spare him an awkward apology he wasn’t in the mood to give.

“Oh! Good to see you again Hanzo! Folks will be excited to see you again. People always seem to perk up a bit when the blue brothers are on the track!” She clapped her hands together. “I take it you met Jesse. I’m sorry he took your usual spot, but Fio is just so big, and we didn’t have another paddock at the time…”

“It is perfectly fine,” Hanzo gave Esther the thinnest of smiles. “Where can I find my companions, however?” While he trusted Esther’s love for chocobos, he still felt nervous every time he had to load his two closest friends onto the transport at the base of Gold Saucer before taking the tram up.

“They’re in paddock 14. I tried to tell you, but I can see you’re exhausted. Go get some sleep Hanzo! Otherwise you’ll fall out of the saddle tomorrow!” Esther made ‘shooing’ gestures with her hands, but Hanzo shook his head.

“I need to check on Sora and Tamotsu first. Then I can rest.” Hanzo turned his head to hide a yawn with the back of his wrist. “I will see you tomorrow, Esther. Thank you.”

Hanzo retraced his steps back to the stables, and slid open the door to paddock 14. He breathed out a sigh of relief as a familiar chorus of chirping _kwehs_ greeted him. “I am sorry to keep you waiting, my friends.”

Sora and Tamotsu were large by Wutai standards, but they seemed positively small after being in Fio’s presence. Hanzo went over and stood between them. Sora butted his head into his shoulder while Tamotsu started combing his beak through Hanzo's hair. The pale blue feathers were a soothing respite after just the barest bit of exposure to the neon, multicolored lights beyond the stables.

Sora let out a soft, warbling coo. “Yes, yes, I was gone for some time. That was terrible of me.” He reached up to skritch under Sora's chin. “And I will be leaving again in a little while.” He flinched as Tamotsu let out a shrill whistle of protest. “I am tired. I must sleep. This is where you sleep while we are here. I sleep in the human stables. It is the same as always. Nothing has changed since our last visit.” Hanzo found himself protesting against two suspiciously affectionate chocobos. “Alright, alright! I will stay a little longer.” Hanzo didn't bother fighting a yawn as the light overhead dimmed a good twenty or thirty percent.

Sora managed to corral him, and it wasn't long before Hanzo was sitting on the absolutely filthy floor, leaning against both of his chocobos as if they were still camping in the wild. Hanzo shifted as Tamotsu tucked his head under his chin, and he finally stopped resisting sleep.

When Hanzo came back to awareness, he regretted letting his chocobos bully him into sleeping with them. He reeked of travel, sweat, and bird while his back and knees protested every movement. He groaned as he got to his feet, and prepared his race-day special breakfast for Sora and Tamotsu; amaranth grains, oil of blugu, and some shredded gagighandi meat. Hearty and healthy without being heavy. Once he was sure that Sora wasn’t going to steal from Tamotsu, Hanzo made his way to the blessedly non-themed sleeping quarters he should have slept in last night in order to shower and change into his racing silks. The scant bit of hot water he was able to use eased some of his aches from the night before. He fastened his sleeves into place and spent far too long making sure his royal blue shirt was perfectly tucked in.

Hanzo grabbed a breakfast bar that made him regret leaving Wutai when he took the first bite. He could only hope that they hadn’t also chosen gagighandi as the protein source. He sped back to the paddocks to prepare Sora for the first race. Tamotsu didn’t help by repeatedly butting his head into Hanzo’s shoulder.

“You will have your turn soon enough! Tamotsu, stop, Tamotsu. Tamotsu!” Hanzo sighed, “ _Piiko!”_ Tamotsu stopped butting into his shoulder, and Hanzo had to bite the inside of his lip so that he did not laugh at the way he indignantly fluffed his plumage out. “Always so jealous, be patient. Be happy for your brother.” Hanzo reached over to brush his hand down the chocobo’s neck. “Now I am going to go tell Esther that Sora is ready, and I will be back later to collect you, Tamotsu. I expect you to behave.”

Tamotsu gave a sullen trill which Hanzo supposed he would have to settle for. He gave one last adjustment to the straps to Sora’s racing saddle before exiting the paddock. Esther was in fine form as always, and she was able to get him checked in despite the dozen or so people demanding her attention. Hanzo felt relieved that he got checked in so quickly, after such an inauspicious start to the day; even if it meant that he had to check in at the hectic environment of Chocobo Square itself instead of the stables.

Thankfully, the waiting room for the jockeys was not quite so exhausting. Just one more respite from the neon lights that the general public of Gold Saucer would never see. There were already eight other racers seated at the large, round table at the center of the room, a game of Midgar Hold ‘Em already underway. Hanzo had never taken part in the card games the other jockeys played to pass the time between races. He'd thought about taking part in the games, but enough careful observation told him that too many of the jockeys sitting at the table were cheats, and he couldn't afford to throw his winnings away like that.

Which made it all the more impressive (and suspicious) that Jesse was seated at the table with the fang’s share of the winnings in front of him. Unlike the other jockeys, Jesse still had that red cloth wrapped around his shoulders and his wide-brimmed hat. While neither were exactly forbidden, it made Jesse stand out among the other jockeys. Aside from his height, which was apparent even with everyone sitting at the table.

Hanzo watched as some old faces and some new groaned as the showdown arrived. Jesse flashed that same, too-pleased grin as several piles of gil got pushed in his direction. Hanzo didn’t envy Jesse the walk from the table to the starting line. Hanzo stopped breathing as those gold eyes caught his gaze from across the room, and he looked away, suddenly fascinated by the faded poster of the chocobo champions of yesteryear.

When he chanced a glance back, Jesse was all business, his face completely unreadable as he picked up the two cards in front of him. Three of the players folded immediately. This round didn’t make it to the showdown, but Jesse managed to split the pot between himself and another jockey. It was fascinating, watching the hands unfold over and over. Generally, Midgar Hold ‘Em didn’t reach the final showdown, but with this many players it was far more enticing to take a risk that the cards were spread thin enough that even a mediocre hand might win out.

Jesse and his metal hand seemed to be winning out more than the others. At least until the chime for the long-distance racers to gather went off. There were still three jockeys at the table, but they got to their feet as well. Only Jesse seemed content as he remained sitting at the table.

He half-considered leaving the room to watch the long-distance runners start, but Hanzo could already feel his anticipation ramping up. The next chime would be for them.

When Jesse caught his eye again, Hanzo felt he couldn’t pretend to ignore the man any longer, when there was no card game to steal the man’s focus. Against his better judgement, he wandered over to the table.

"Were you cheating?" Hanzo nodded towards the retreating backs of the other jockeys, "Like them?"

Jesse chuckled, "Nah, just got the devil's own luck."

“I suppose it would be unwise to admit if you were. Accidents can happen, even in front of security cameras.”

Jesse’s smile only grew bigger, and Hanzo had to force his face back into a neutral expression. _Don’t be taken in by him. There’s a reason he outplayed everyone else at the table._ “Say, it was Hanzo, right?”

He kept his expression guarded as he nodded.

“Right, Hanzo. I just, uh, wanted to apologize if I stepped over any kind of line last night. I didn’t mean any offense by it.” Jesse pulled his hat down from his head and held it over his chest. _Why is such a simple motion so endearing?_

If Hanzo was a betting man—or a smarter man—he would have folded. “Do not trouble yourself about it.” He crossed his arms, staring at the wall again.

“Still, you seemed awful upset last night. I hate to think it was something I’d done-” Hanzo almost jumped as Jesse rounded the corner of his vision, metal hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

Hanzo pressed a hand to his chest, trying to still his racing heart, irritated that this _hulking giant_ of a man had managed to sneak up on him, despite all of his years of training when his _boots_ were—Hanzo suddenly realized that there had been a complete absence of sound. He looked down at Jesse’s feet. The boots he wore were similar to the ones he’d been wearing last night, only these were dark and polished black, and had a complete lack of spurs.

Hanzo felt his heart race again for completely unknown reasons. He barely heard Jesse as he stared at the man’s bare heels. The only thing that drew Hanzo from his stupor was the chime above that he had attuned himself to.

“That’s our cue! After you, Hanzo,” Jesse bowed in exaggerated deference (in Wutai it would have been sarcastic instead of charming), and gestured for Hanzo to go before him.

Hanzo swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He took three steps before he turned back to Jesse, “I like seafood.”

The man stopped in his tracks, hat frozen on its course back towards his head. “Pardon?”

“For when you lose. I believe you said the terms were that the loser buy the winner dinner. I prefer seafood.”

Jesse blinked away his shock, and the tiny smile that took its place radiated like a small sun. “Well, just so you know, I like steak. There’s, like, five hundred something restaurants in the Gold Saucer, yeah? Gotta be at least one good surf and turf place, but I thought you had arrangements?”

Hanzo tossed his ponytail over his shoulder, “My plans have changed. Don’t spend all of that gil you won before we eat. Seafood. Don’t forget it.”

“Whatever you say, Mr. Big Deal,” Jesse’s grin didn’t fade a bit from when he squared his hat back on his head, down to the starting gate. Hanzo could just catch it between the bars that separated his stall from Jesse’s.

It was a different experience for Hanzo. Usually he tuned out everything else before a race. The world shrank small enough that only he and his chocobo existed. The presence of someone else in his orbit was something he was unprepared for, and no amount of pressing his head against Sora’s neck seemed to drown out Jesse’s presence.

“Hey, Mr. Big Deal,” Hanzo bolted upright in the saddle, embarrassment flooding through him.

“What?” He hissed the words through his teeth, shoulders suddenly tense. He wasn’t sure what the protocol was for talking before races, since he’d never engaged in the practice of shit-talking, and he’d always been able to drown out his surroundings before.

Jesse leaned in closer to the bars, and this close Hanzo felt his lungs catch in his chest as the gold lights from the racetrack lit up Jesse’s eyes like bright gold coins.

“Good luck.”

Jesse winked and and ear-shattering alarm rang as the gates opened. Hanzo grabbed for Sora’s neck as his chocobo lurched out of the box in the worst opening in Hanzo’s entire history as a chocobo racer. The precious seconds without focus allowed Hanzo to be boxed in, and he had to control his temper in order to remain focused enough to maneuver out of the situation. Hanzo curled his lip in a snarl and bent down along Sora’s neck to cut their wind resistance. _The devil’s own luck!_ He managed to get a lucky break along the second turn and he realized that he was coming in behind Jesse who was… in the lead. Worse, Hanzo could tell by Fio’s easy lope that the pair had plenty of stamina for the final run. Fio’s long stride carried them forward, and it was all Hanzo could do to have Sora draft off of her to second place.

Jesse had the decency to look abashed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t even acknowledge the crowd as he turned to Hanzo. “Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t think that would… I mean, I figured you were used to folks.... Shit.”

Hanzo crossed his arms, and settled back in his saddle. “It does not matter. Next time you will not catch me off-guard like that.” He rubbed Sora’s neck and kicked his heels to urge Sora to walk a cool-down lap. Fio fell into stride beside them, half a step ahead, Hanzo noted, with her gait.

Hanzo sat up in his saddle again as he saw the podium ahead, Esther beaming happily as she saw the flock of racers approaching. While second place was less than ideal, it was something. Hanzo sidled up beside Esther and held out a hand for his cut of the winnings. Esther dropped a small but dense sack into his waiting palm.

“Looking forward to seeing Tamotsu later on today! That was a good recovery effort after the start for Sora.”

Hanzo couldn’t bring himself to publicly blame Jesse for his actions, even though he had every right. _It will only lead to trouble. Admit you underestimated him on and off the track and move on._ He turned to Jesse, about to ask why the man wasn’t collecting his earnings, but for a man who just won his first race against long odds, he didn’t seem all that motivated to collect the (surely) sizable purse. Jesse’s posture was small, as if he were trying to shrink out of Esther’s sight—then Hanzo caught the figure waiting at the back of the podium. A corrections officer for Corel Prison.

He whipped his head back over to Jesse, and suddenly the man’s defeated attitude made sense. Jesse didn’t even look at Hanzo as he brushed his hand through the feathers at Fio’s neck.

“If you want, we can have dinner be decided by this afternoon’s race.”

“Don’t be absurd. We already negotiated the conditions. Unless you have some other arrangements this evening?” Hanzo felt his knee brush against Jesse’s as they turned to guide their chocobos down the tunnel that led back to the stables.

Jesse’s eyes sparkled gold once more as he smiled, “Nah, my plans have definitely changed for the better since I woke up this morning.”

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~"That's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet."~~  
>  OH BOY. Another niche story idea/AU/crossover thing that absolutely no one asked for! I am working hella hard (45-50 hour work weeks) and still working on my other writing projects AND my big bang project, so, uh, don't expect this one to update swiftly, but here it is. Intention into the universe and all that. ~~I kind of wrote this to exorcise it so that I can put more work into my Big Bang project TBH lol~~
> 
> Also chocobos are predatory, look at those beaks and tell me I'm wrong. I'll wait. Greens are obviously medicinal in nature :p
> 
> Thank you to Spin and Scout for the beta offers on this one :U

**Author's Note:**

> Places to find me!
> 
> [Tumblr: liquidlyrium](http://liquidlyrium.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pillowfort: liquidlyrium](https://www.pillowfort.io/Liquidlyrium)  
> [Dreamwidth: liquidlyrium](https://liquidlyrium.dreamwidth.org/)


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